(As published in the Summer 2002 AA-EVP NewsJournal.)
Many of our members have talked and written to us about a noise that is often heard right before an EVP message. It appears before some of our own EVP. It is a loud, or not so loud, click, pop, boom or crackling sound. Some have described it as similar to the sound of someone keying a microphone. One noted researcher likened the noise to a micro sonic boom. When we are listening back to an EVP recording and hear this sound, we listen more intently to what comes next. If you are one of the many people who have experienced this noise you know what I am talking about.
Not all EVP messages are preceded by this precursor, “popping” sound. For us it is an occasional occurrence. But when we hear it we are not unlike Pavlov’s dogs, ears perk up waiting for that reward. The click, if there, means a reward of an EVP. It, for us, usually signals a better than average EVP as far as loudness, quality and clarity is concerned.
Geoff Viney in his book Surviving Death, Evidence of the Afterlife discusses this mysterious sound in relation to other types of phenomena. [Please note that Viney reported that Peter Thorneycrof did the work in the RAF museum (below). We have subsequently learned that the work was conducted by his nephew, Ivan Spenceley.]
- In 1986 the downstairs rooms, in a farmhouse in England, were infiltrated with the voices of those who appeared to be former residents. The voices were heard over several nights. The voices began and ended with a distinct “click” as if a radio had been turned on and off. Investigators looked for a receiver or a transmitter, but none was found. Natural explanations for the phenomena were ruled out.
- In 1973 the owner of a converted lighthouse in Maryland repeatedly had his sleep interrupted by the racket of doors banging, furniture moving and footsteps. A “clicking” sound preceded these manifestations. Upon further investigation nothing in the area that the noises came from appeared out of place. The building’s owner decided to try and record what he was hearing and left a tape recorder running. The tape contained voices and extraneous noises. Some of these voices talked about the treatment of injuries. A local librarian helped research the home and to everyone’s amazement found that the building was used as a field hospital during the Civil War.
- The anomalous events centering on a World War II Lincoln bomber at the RAF Cosford Aerospace Museum were researched in 1990 by the British investigator Ivan Spenceley. The strange sounds of scratches, squeaks, girl’s voices, bumps and human sighs had been reported in the vicinity of the bomber. The staff had seen phantom air crews and dramatic drops in temperature were reported. Other phenomena included the movement of switches and the rotation of the wheels of the aircraft. Thorneycroft saw moving points of bright light and also heard and recorded many anomalous sounds within the aircraft. These sounds, which were most often mechanical movement type noises, were analyzed and it was found that they always began with a discernable blip on the tape similar to that produced by a sudden burst of static.
The clicking noise associated with EVP messages has been the center of considerable conversation for quite sometime. Perhaps this sound is caused by a dimensional breakthrough and is an artifact of spirit world energy entering the physical world. The above stories might point to this type of answer.
Paolo Presi on page 3 of this newsletter reports on Carlo Trajna’s “Psychotemporal Model” in which “Psychic Time” flows differently from “Physical Time.” Is this anomalous sound before EVP messages caused from a shift in time as the two aspects of reality link up?
Alexander MacRae used an oscilloscope in analyzing a well-known recording from the Palace Hotel. When viewing this recording Alec noticed that the level of background noise (whistles, hums and buzzing which were side effects of the equipment) on the oscilloscope almost went to zero. Three or four seconds after the background noise disappeared, a woman’s voice was heard to say “Now.” Two seconds later, a male voice was recorded with a personal message for his sister who was in the audience. Another few seconds passed and a female voice said, “Finish,” and then the background noise once again returned to normal on the oscilloscope.
Perhaps the precursor noise we hear on our recordings is similar to the word “Now” heard on Alexander’s recording. It may simply be a signal or a cue for us to listen closely to what comes next. Is this noise similar to our telephone ringing letting us know that someone is calling? Alexander’s recording may point to another possible fact, and that is that the entities need and gather all available noise and energy to get their message through to us.
Do those on the other side have equipment that they use to try and contact us? Are researchers, indeed, hearing the keying of something like a microphone? And are those on the other side doing this? Several researchers in the past and present say that they have been in contact with groups on the other side that state that they have developed apparatus for communication with researchers on this side and that this development continues.
Have you went over the tones that seem like a melody or the feedback sound before they talk. I notice that the pops sometimes responses that hand the water sounds like rain falling.
Steven, It is probable that the precursor phenomenon represents a breakthrough-like event and may show up in many different forms. The key point, I think, is that there is sometimes a breakthrough-like effect. When an old analog radio signal is detected by a receiver, sometimes it takes a moment for the radio to “settle” into a stable state. The effect seems like the incoming radio signal is “breaking through” the receiver electronics.
All of that is to say that, sometimes, we see similar effects that we see in our technology. If that means they are using technology is unknown. More likely, it means they are learning to use our technology better.
Im a paranormal investigator,and use top of the line voice recorders and often get static like disturbances during my audio recordings,Could this be a sign of spirit commmunication,or a portal opening ?
This is the kind of question that might be better discussed in the Idea Exchange (http://coop.ethericstudies.org/) because there are a number of factors that need to be considered.
All bets are off if you are using radio-sweep or environmentally stimulated database access techniques.
Hand-held electronic devices have a “floating ground” and are more subject to electrical and magnetic interference than devices plugged into the wall. Also, we have seen problems with people inadvertently touching the microphone, which can cause static-like noise. Always look for naturally occurring artifacts of the equipment. If those are not understood, use decisive determinism. That is, if uncoached listeners cannot clearly make out speech, the recording should be discarded.
The old Panasonic DR60 digital recorders are famous for bursts of noise because of poor engineering. For a time amongst ATransC members, the “Angry Man” noises were mistaken as EVP. On close examination, we learned that the bursts of noise were an artifact of the equipment, but that some pretty good EVP were sometimes found in the noise. It was funny to find “I love you” in a reported angry man hate message.
Our thought now is that the best form of background sound for transform EVP is an audio-frequency noise signal frequently perturbed by brief noise spikes. It appears the noise spikes help initiate voice formation by introducing more uncertainty into the signal while the primary stream provides the raw stuff of voice formation.
The portal concept is still poorly understood. I am no expert –perhaps others can add to this–, but my sense is that a combination of conditions come together to produce a thoughtform that acts like a contact field. They appear to be part expectation based on long-standing lore, architectural or geological circumstances such as a dark corner or cave which invoke a sense of foreboding and the willingness of our etheric communicators to play along. While they seem real enough in a practical sense, they appear to be metaphysically artificial.
EVP is considered communication and our practice is to expect our etheric communicators to talk where they know we are listening. If speech cannot be understood in the resulting sound stream without very much manipulation, it should be discarded with the expectation that practitioner and etheric communicator can do better. Always error on the side of the mundane.
I hope that helps.
I’ve been recording for the last couple of weeks, without knowing anything about these “precursor sounds.”
I spoke with Vickie Talbott yesterday and she mentioned them to me after I explained what I was hearing and figuring out during my own recordings. I love when spirit allows me to figure things out before I get the proof from someone else. Thank you, Tom, for doing what you are doing and paving a way for many others to come.
I’ve been using GarageBand for lack of anything better in my library. I googled these “click” that I was hearing and all I could find was comments that some people had to manually take them out while recording their music. NOW, I know! and I’m sure those artists had no idea they were picking up spirit.
Donna Boyle, Medium and Direct Messenger for Spirit